Update on my son

[Geekbabe]

As many of you know, my boy has struggled with Autism as a life challenge. Well he will soon be a graduate of UMass, he won’t walk till May but he will be a graduate in just a couple of weeks.

Linked below is his farewell column as a sports writer for UMass. I am so proud my heart could burst!

Please give him some ATOT effect, like it, share it, read it!

http://www.umassmedia.com/sports/a-...cle_8cdc1982-db09-11e7-a27d-ff09d743aa46.html

 

[JulesMaximus]

That’s fantastic! Congratulations to your son, you must be so proud!

 

[Geekbabe]

That’s fantastic! Congratulations to your son, you must be so proud!

My heart could burst from pride! All three of my kids, educated, compassionate adults. And there are 11 grandchildren coming up to be the same way!

 

[IronWing]

Congrats to your son!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

W@@t!

 

[Mayne]

As many of you know, my boy has struggled with Autism as a life challenge. Well he will soon be a graduate of UMass, he won’t walk till May but he will be a graduate in just a couple of weeks.

Linked below is his farewell column as a sports writer for UMass. I am so proud my heart could burst!

Please give him some ATOT effect, like it, share it, read it!

http://www.umassmedia.com/sports/a-...cle_8cdc1982-db09-11e7-a27d-ff09d743aa46.html

Congrats! also I shared it.

 

[Captante]

Awesome!

 

[Brainonska511]

Congratulations!

 

[preCRT]

Congrats! Shared it but can't figure out how to 'like' it [feeling old & creaky atm].

 

[Geekbabe]

I swear, I will live to see this kid walk in that cap & gown, he worked so hard & did so well!

 

[whm1974]

I swear, I will live to see this kid walk in that cap & gown, he worked so hard & did so well!

That is very good of you to provide that level of support for your son.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Congratulations.

 

[Meghan54]

Congratulations!

 

[Red Squirrel]

Congrats!

 

[highland145]

 

[daveybrat]

Congratulations, it's nice to hear some good news in the world once in a while!!

 

[bradly1101]

As many of you know, my boy has struggled with Autism as a life challenge. Well he will soon be a graduate of UMass, he won’t walk till May but he will be a graduate in just a couple of weeks.

Linked below is his farewell column as a sports writer for UMass. I am so proud my heart could burst!

Please give him some ATOT effect, like it, share it, read it!

http://www.umassmedia.com/sports/a-...cle_8cdc1982-db09-11e7-a27d-ff09d743aa46.html

That was awesome! Shared on FB. There are writers in my circle, and I know they will love it!

I said this: "From this autistic man's mom. Just wow. Writing is so amazing! As you know, Eljon was a writer. The expression, understanding, and inspiration it imparts is almost beyond words."

All my best.

 

[Chaotic42]

Congrats! I read another of his articles and I have to say that I enjoy his writing style.

 

[bradly1101]

Thread link. There's another thread here,The ever growing effects of gratitude in your life, and your son is an obvious beneficiary.

While working... (for the bored: lots of client talk, once, I explained the first use of software to upper staff of the sanitation department of the city of Berkeley, CA in 1992. They were apprehensive of the new machines, they had seemed mysterious to me just a few years prior. These PC's were much like the original IBM PC, but faster, and had 640K of memory.

Once I had them realizing that the SW was actually easy, with menus and prompts for everything, and there were absolutely no slick frills back then, just clean, tight, monochrome code with two-digit years, they lightened up.

No matter the position, education is always a feature, even if just needed to explain a problem. Conveyance, with appropriate job passion, openmindedness.... and gratitude make work a good place to be. And rewarding. Your son obviously knows this. And the feeling of moving up is the same as finding out that you're good at things, including appreciation.

I loved the questions those guys had, they were educational, and I gave even the most repeated questions utmost respect. During the whole class I never touched a keyboard, always instead saying, "Just press 'A' (for Add Employee) and watch the screen." With dirty fingernails they would slowly comply, as if there was something horribly wrong possible. I said, "Look," and I broke my rule and mashed a bunch of keys and of course nothing happened. He pressed 'A' and said, "Cool."

I missed a zag in my career once when my company wanted me to move from service to the new position of sales technical adviser; they kept over-selling the products, wreaking havoc during installations. It's easy to say yes to things for commissions and whatnot. But knowing a few salesmen there and my love of my current position kept me from taking the corner. I returned a semi-annual-ish message from an independent dealer in the Bay Area that I had been ignoring because I knew they wanted to hire me (an obvious no-no, so eventually I had to pretend it was my idea) as their service manager, and took the job, which turned out to be a big mistake. I wasn't ready for management, hadn't even read a book on it [+other stuff]. My closed, somewhat egotistical, service-oriented, mind kept me from an opportunity that, who knows, could have been better than a service account manager. Live and learn.)

...being able to combine gratitude (and lots of admirable qualities) with writing is the dream job (IMO). I know a much published writer (Lisa Alvarez - we grew up together) who teaches at Irvine Valley College, and I also grew up with Fred Goss, a pretty big, brilliant writer/director for Hollywood who loves doing cameos. They probably will/have read your son's words and can totally relate, their reactions will come tomorrow, three others have read it, and reacted with the heart.

I'm not a parent, and this must be amazing for you, his words brightly resonating across the world like his mom's. A broad, sometimes hilly path ahead that you guided him to, a trailhead to an adventure. Drive with care, but, dammit, have some fun!

 

[Geekbabe]

Thread link. There's another thread here,The ever growing effects of gratitude in your life, and your son is an obvious beneficiary.

While working... (for the bored: lots of client talk, once, I explained the first use of software to upper staff of the sanitation department of the city of Berkeley, CA in 1992. They were apprehensive of the new machines, they had seemed mysterious to me just a few years prior. These PC's were much like the original IBM PC, but faster, and had 640K of memory.

Once I had them realizing that the SW was actually easy, with menus and prompts for everything, and there were absolutely no slick frills back then, just clean, tight, monochrome code with two-digit years, they lightened up.

No matter the position, education is always a feature, even if just needed to explain a problem. Conveyance, with appropriate job passion, openmindedness.... and gratitude make work a good place to be. And rewarding. Your son obviously knows this. And the feeling of moving up is the same as finding out that you're good at things, including appreciation.

I loved the questions those guys had, they were educational, and I gave even the most repeated questions utmost respect. During the whole class I never touched a keyboard, always instead saying, "Just press 'A' (for Add Employee) and watch the screen." With dirty fingernails they would slowly comply, as if there was something horribly wrong possible. I said, "Look," and I broke my rule and mashed a bunch of keys and of course nothing happened. He pressed 'A' and said, "Cool."

I missed a zag in my career once when my company wanted me to move from service to the new position of sales technical adviser; they kept over-selling the products, wreaking havoc during installations. It's easy to say yes to things for commissions and whatnot. But knowing a few salesmen there and my love of my current position kept me from taking the corner. I returned a semi-annual-ish message from an independent dealer in the Bay Area that I had been ignoring because I knew they wanted to hire me (an obvious no-no, so eventually I had to pretend it was my idea) as their service manager, and took the job, which turned out to be a big mistake. I wasn't ready for management, hadn't even read a book on it [+other stuff]. My closed, somewhat egotistical, service-oriented, mind kept me from an opportunity that, who knows, could have been better than a service account manager. Live and learn.)

...being able to combine gratitude (and lots of admirable qualities) with writing is the dream job (IMO). I know a much published writer (Lisa Alvarez - we grew up together) who teaches at Irvine Valley College, and I also grew up with Fred Goss, a pretty big writer/director for Hollywood who loves doing cameos. They probably will/have read your son's words and can totally relate, their reactions will come tomorrow, three others have read it, and reacted with the heart.

I'm not a father, and this must be amazing for you, his words brightly resonating across the world like his dad's. A broad, sometimes hilly path ahead that you guided him to, a trailhead to an adventure. Drive with care, but, dammit, have some fun!

I am his Mom & while his experiences aren’t mine to tell, my memories of him are. With an child who has Autism it feels like there is a filmsy curtain between you & your kid, preventing you from seeing & hearing him clearly. Occasionally a wind shifts, the curtain parts & you see that child in all of his glory. Life then revolves around getting that curtain to open more often! Seeing & hearing my son via his writing is a gift of such magnitude that I almost can’t express my feelings. Another gift, one that came only after years is the realization that Autism with all its quirks is just another way of being. My son is perfect just as he is, he is far from cold & unfeeling, My only hope is that he also learns that people who would discount him or laugh at him suffer from a far more serious problem than he could ever imagine.

Thank you for your words & your sharing, another gift, receive with a lot of gratitude.

 

[Geekbabe]

Oh and for Christmas & to mark his finishing University. I got him great seats for a Bruins hockey game in January. He will be taking a friend & considers this a huge event. I am hoping this will ease the end of the college routine & provide something to look forward to as he begins his next transition, finding a job with a company that can appreciate him & his skills.

 

[bradly1101]

I am his Mom & while his experiences aren’t mine to tell, my memories of him are. With an child who has Autism it feels like there is a filmsy curtain between you & your kid, preventing you from seeing & hearing him clearly. Occasionally a wind shifts, the curtain parts & you see that child in all of his glory. Life then revolves around getting that curtain to open more often! Seeing & hearing my son via his writing is a gift of such magnitude that I almost can’t express my feelings. Another gift, one that came only after years is the realization that Autism with all its quirks is just another way of being. My son is perfect just as he is, he is far from cold & unfeeling, My only hope is that he also learns that people who would discount him or laugh at him suffer from a far more serious problem than he could ever imagine.

Thank you for your words & your sharing, another gift, receive with a lot of gratitude.

Gender mixup, sorry about that - fixed. I should have looked at your fun avatar. Kitties! Another gift.

I have shared in other threads about my dearly departed partner who was an amazing writer. Despite the challenges to his brain (from an old TBI) his incredible spirit shined through. I know what you mean about the curtains parting. It's like an inspiration (maybe from you), or an itch to communicate something breaks them free of their shackled mind. It was like Eljon (my partner) found a foothold from which he could lift himself up above the fray that kept him distant.

Your son's words will inspire many, and already have. Raising one's light to illuminate the darkness ahead, for him, for others around him, or around the world, is an awesome experience. I always call writing therapy for me. Thoughtful words can bring one closer to many, many others, but just as significantly to one's self. Your words have brought smiles and a lifted spirit for me since last night.

All my best!

 

[bradly1101]

My only hope is that he also learns that people who would discount him or laugh at him suffer from a far more serious problem than he could ever imagine.

I watched unscrupulous people try to take advantage of my partner's disability, and try to talk him into things he didn't need (upgraded this or that, and enticements to try to separate him from his cash). Unfeeling people are everywhere without empathy or compassion, but with much blinding greed for themselves.

There are also angels out there who I'm sure will recognize your son as the incredible gift he is. Brightness attracts those who know how to shine too, who know how to see beyond any personal or physical challenge the world throws out at us. We (usually) grow in acceptance. I could share horrible stories about growing up gay and intolerance, but that's meaningless now compared to the apparent awakening going on about all sorts of challenges. They are often seen now with empathetic eyes, and honorable curiosity to identify. You brought him in at just the right time.

 

[Stopsignhank]

GB,
My son is autistic so I know the pride that you feel. When my son graduated from Junior high school the entire school cheered for him. It was really cool. He also got a cheer when he graduated from high school. It was such a great thing to see. Right now he is in junior college and we would love for him to graduate, although it probably will not happen. He is a concrete thinker and things like English are not his strong suit. I am so glad to hear that your son is graduating. Your pride in your son us understandable and a wonderful thing to see.

 

[Rifter]

Congrats! you must be so proud.